District 9685

NSW, Australia

SPOKESSPOKES Chartered March 14, 1960

VOLUME 55 No. 01

2nd JULY, 2013

Editor: David Firth Chairman: Pres. Theo Reporter: David Firth

Stewards: Adrian Bell; Pat Parker

WHAT’S ON

NEXT WEEK

Guest Speaker:

Reg King

from

Cancer Care Foundation

Chairman: Linda Glanfield

Reporter: Phil Stanton

Stewards: Michael Bradley & David Walsh

July 16

Guest Speaker:

Kirsty Smith

St. Lucy’s School

Chairman: John Ellis

Reporter: Pat Parker

Stewards: Ian Huckel &

Jack Reid

TONIGHT’S PROGRAM

CLUB ASSEMBLY and PLANS & OBJECTIVES,

with all members participating and providing input on the various club projects and activities. This is in keeping with the RI

President’s theme for the year, ‘ENGAGE ROTARY - CHANGE LIVES’. So who is the new President of Rotary International?

Ron D. Burton, a member of the Rotary Club of Norman, Oklahoma, USA, is the incom-ing President of Rotary International Ron retired as president of the University of Oklaho-ma Foundation Inc. in 2007. He is a member of the American Bar Association, as well as the bar associations of Cleveland County and the state of Oklahoma. He is admitted to practice in Oklahoma and before the U.S. Supreme Court. "This is an exciting time to be a Rotarian," Burton says. "I believe we are well poised to capitalize on our strengths as we embrace the [RI] Strategic Plan and the Future Vision Plan. My vision is to have every Rotarian appreciate what it means to be a Rotarian. With these two tools, we can make that happen." Active in his community, Burton is a founder and past president of the Norman Public School Foundation, and founder and past board member of the Norman Community Foundation. A recipient of the Silver Beaver Award, he is a past vice president of the Last Frontier Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Burton believes that Rotary's promotion of high ethical standards is one of the qualities that sets it apart from other organizations. "It assures those dealing with us that we can be trusted," he says. "Most of us are in a business or profession that already has a code of ethics. Vocational service in Rotary just adds to that responsibility. We have an obligation to go above and beyond to make sure that all our actions are above re-proach." A Rotarian since 1979, Burton is vice chair of the Future Vision Committee and a member of the Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force for the United States. He has served RI as director; Rotary Foundation trustee and trustee vice chair; International Assembly moderator, assistant moderator, and group discussion leader; and district governor. His other service to Rotary includes chair of the 2011 New Orleans Convention Committee, vice chair of the Investment Advi-sory Committee, liaison trustee of the Vocational Service Committee, Permanent Fund national adviser, and regional Rotary Foundation coordinator. He was aide to 2006-07 RI President William B. Boyd. Burton has received the RI Service Above Self Award and The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service, Distin-guished Service Award, and International Service Award for a Polio-Free World. Burton and his wife, Jetta, have two children and three grandchildren.

PRESIDENTIAL RAMBLINGS

That was number one

And we’re going to have some fun . . .

(forgotten the rest of it!!)

It was a dark and stormy night. Yet they came

from far and wide to be a part of celebrating the

Wilson year, yet another in the fifty three year his-

tory of our club.

In spite of his resistance to being the front man, he

did a great job – almost like he could have contin-

ued . . . . !

The whole night was another David Firth triumph.

Everything done with distinction! Thank goodness

he will be here to hold the President’s hand when

necessary!

Last Tuesday morning David Firth and I attended

the Term 2 Presentation Day at Pennant Hills Public

School, where I had the pleasure of presenting a

Community Service Award to Mrs Chris Laing for

her outstanding contribution to the school through

environmental education, and helping in a number

of other rolls. She has been pivotal in maintaining

the grounds to a high standard even through school

holidays. David and I found it a truly rewarding

two hours watching kids from kindergarten to Year

6 get their awards.

If you have read this far, indulge me while we set a

little trap for those who haven’t, so that the Ser-

geant can get off to a flying start. Next Tuesday

just before the Sergeant’s session, take off your din-

ner disc and place it on the table. We will then

bring to the justice of the Sergeant those intransi-

gents.

I am looking at my “The Eternal Optimist The glass

is ALWAYS half- full” Award.

How do I fill it FULL? Any ideas?

That’s it for now – fasten seat belts for the year

ahead!

Theo G

INTERNATIONAL TOAST ROTARY CLUB OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, USA, District 5770, (Chartered 1919), President Andy Rieger and their 158 members. The club meets on Thursdays at 12 noon at the 1st Christian Fellowship Hall. This is the home club of RI President Ron Burton. Norman is a city in the state of Oklahoma that is locat-ed 20 miles (30 km) south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. With a full-time population of 110,925 as of the 2010 census, Norman is the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the 235th-largest city in the United States. The city serves as the county seat of Cleveland County. As of 2010, the city has a total area of 189.4 square miles (491 km2), of which 178.8 square miles (463 km2) is land and 10.6 square miles (27 km2) is water.

Norman was settled during the Land Run of 1889, which opened the former Indian Territory and Unas-signed Lands to American pioneer settlement. The city was named in honor of its first land surveyor, Abner Norman, and was formally incorporated on May 13, 1891. Today the city is known for its higher education and related research industries. Norman is home to the University of Oklahoma, the largest university in the state with approxi-mately 30,000 students enrolled. The university is well known for its sporting events, with over 80,000 people routinely attending football games. The university is also home to several museums including the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, which contains the largest collection of French Impressionist art ever given to an American university. The National Weather Center, located in Norman, houses a unique collec-tion of university, state, and federal organizations that work together to improve the understanding of events related to the Earth's atmosphere. Norman lies within Tornado Alley, a geographic region where tornadic activity is predomi-nant. The Oklahoma City metropolitan ar-ea, including Norman, is the most tornado-prone area in the United States. In addi-tion to this, the SPC or Storm Prediction Center, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is located in Nor-man due to its location. The facility is used for forecasting severe storm and tornado outbreaks in addition to housing various experimental weath-er radars. Norman falls within a temperate, humid subtropical climate region. On average Norman receives about 38 inches (970 mm) of precipitation per year; May and June are the wettest months. Temperatures average 61 °F (16 °C) for the year. Average daytime highs range from 50 °F (10 °C) in January to nearly 93 °F (34 °C) in August; average lows range from 28 °F

(−2 °C) in January to 71 °F (22 °C) in July and August. Summers can be

extremely hot, as was evident in 2009 when temperatures climbed above 100 °F (38 °C) for more than a month. Consistent winds, averaging near 10 mph (16 km/h) and usually from the south to southeast, help to temper hotter weather during the summer and intensify cold periods during the winter. In 2010, Norman became the 17th city in the United States to adopt a council resolution giving it status as a Fair Trade Town. The resolution states that the city of Norman supports the purchasing of goods from the local community; when goods cannot be purchased locally the city will support buying from producers abroad who meet Fair Trade standards. These standards include supporting quality of life in developing countries and planning for environmental sustainability.

The Norman City Flag

Oklahoma University Visitor

Centre

The National Weather Centre in Norman

Report of Changeover 2013

The usual weather for changeover prevailed yet again this year –

wet and cold. But once inside the golf club we were dry and

warm, atleast early in the evening. (Later on, those of us in the far

corner were doing a slow freeze!) We had a number of special

guests headed by District Governor John Dodd and his wife

Janelle, and featuring Professor John Christodoulou, Naz Al Hafid

our PhD Scholar, and her supervisor Dr Wendy Gold. There was an

array of ‘friends of Rotary’ as well as family of incoming president

Theo.

In a first for our club,

we had the pleasure

of a lady MC in Linda

Glanfield who did a

great job leading us

through the pro-

gram. President Pe-

ter, supported so

capably by his wife

Susan, not forgetting

Catherine, his daughter, gave his usual polished performance.

Others to contribute to an excellent evening were PP John Young

– Toast to Our Partners – and PP John Ellis – Toast to Rotary Inter-

national.

Amongst the many high-

lights of the evening, the

awarding of 2 Paul Harris

Fellowships ranked very

highly. The first was pre-

sented as a second sap-

phire pin to Jack Reid in

recognition of his contin-

uing Service Above Self

and his approaching 50

years of Rotary service. It

was a pity his dear wife Ruth was not well enough to be with him.

The 2nd PHF was pre-

sented to the quiet

achiever, PP Ian Huckel

in recognition of his con-

tinuing service to our

club as President, Secre-

tary and now Member-

ship Director. Both

awards were warmly

supported by those pre-

sent.

President Peter then pre-

sented Naz Al Hafid with her

Pride of Workmanship award

which she was unable to

receive at our POW Night in

May. Naz expressed her

thanks for the support she has received from the club, Australian

Rotary Health, and Professor Christodoulou and her supervisors.

President Peter

then presented a

cheque for $25,000

from our club and

the PKU Associa-

tion to Professor

Christodoulou to

support the contin-

uing research into

PKU. Professor John responded by thanking the club for its contin-

ued support.

We then moved to what was referred to as the vaudeville part of

the program. After his official report, President Peter felt moved

to make a series of awards to virtually every member of the club –

if you were absent last Tuesday, your award is still coming! The

thought & effort which Peter and Susan had put into these was

impressive indeed, and gave us all a good laugh. But there was

more to come!

Following the formal

changeover from Peter to

Theo, the vaudeville act

continued with Theo,

capably aided by Georgia,

awarding his incoming

board their indicative

piece of headware –

mainly hats – to denote

the role they will play. Good for another laugh!

President Theo completed the evening with a brief summary of

his plans for the coming year – get strapped in for the ride! He

thanked the guests and everyone else for attending and the

meeting closed with the National Anthem. The editor

Attendance Report for Changeover Meeting

Apologies: Adrian Bell

Visiting Rotarians: DG John Dodd & Janelle; PP John Steel &

Robin; PP Ross McDonald & Rosemary; Pres David Waterhouse

& Dianne;

Guests: Prof J Christodoulou; Dr Wendy Gold; Naz Al Hafid; plus

14 friends of Rotary and 10 partners of members.

Leave of Absence: Bruce Callaway; Bob Cole; George Green;

OUR NEW DISTRICT

We are now part of a new Rotary District formed by

merging our old district, 9680, with part of district

9690. So we are now part of Rotary District 9685 with

the theme ‘From the Mountains to the Sea’ - and a

logo selected from a number of submissions from

clubs around the district.

We are now one of 79 clubs, an increase of 12 over

the number in 9680 last year. Our district now stretch-

es from Manly to Blackheath, and from North Sydney

to Wyong/Tuggerah and The Entrance.

The clubs who were part of 9690 are: Blackheath meets Thurs @ 6.30pm Central Blue Mountains meets Wed @ 6.30pm Katoomba meets Mon @ 6.30pm Kurrajong/North Richmond meets Tues @ 6.30pm Lower Blue Mountains meets Tues @ 6.30pm Nepean meets Mon @ 7.00am Penrith meets Mon @ 7.00pm Penrith Valley meets Wed @ 6.30pm Richmond meets Mon @ 6.30pm Springwood meets Mon @ 6.30pm Upper Blue Mountains Sunrise meets Tues @ 7.15am Windsor meets Wed @ 6.30pm From a selfish point of view, all but 2 of these clubs have conducted regular Pride of Workmanship Awards programs and have been regular customers of our club for trophies, etc. It could be interesting to arrange joint meetings with one or more of these clubs to get to know them and learn of their projects, etc.

Meet our new District Governor

Graeme Davies (Lyn)

District Governor 2013-14

(Rotary Club of Kincumber)

Graeme Davies became a

Rotarian when he was

asked to join the Rotary

Club of Griffith (D9700) in 1990. He was

President in 1994-95. A highlight of that

year was the celebration of the Club‘s 50th

Anniversary. He and his wife Lyn, who was a

member of the Rotary Club of Griffith Central,

were members of the District Youth Exchange

Committee for many years and escorted stu-

dents to New Zealand and the USA as well be-

ing host parents on numerous occasions.

The family moved to the NSW Central Coast

where Graeme joined the Rotary Club of Kin-

cumber (D9680) in 1999 and some years lat-

er Lyn was invited to join the Rotary Club of

Terrigal. Graeme was President of Kincumber

in 2003-04 and Lyn was President of Terrigal

in 2009-10.

Across both districts Graeme has held all

Board positions at Club level with the excep-

tion of Treasurer. He has been a member of

D9680 Australian Rotary Health committee

(2002-10), editor of the DG Newsletter and

member of the District Conference Commit-

tee (D9670; 1995-96), Assistant Governor in

2007-08 and again in 2009-10, DG Special

Representative (2008) to form the Rotary

Club of Gosford City, D9680 Community Ser-

vice Chairman in 2010-11 and D9680 Admin-

istration Director in 2010-11.

He and Lyn (Assistant Governor 2011-12)

have had a long association with MUNA. In

2009, 2010 and 2011 they have worked in

Timor Leste with a RAWCS team from D9680

to establish RYLA in that country.

Graeme was principal of Griffith High School

and Kincumber High School. As well as work-

ing with students with a disability, especially

the hearing impaired. Lyn was also a school

principal in both the Riverina and the Central

Coast. They have three children, Jon, Bron-

wyn and Stuart and two grandchildren, Kobi

and Isla. They both enjoy travelling and have

a range of other interests including reading,

canoeing and boating.

THE LAST WORD

‘We can't help everyone, but everyone can help

someone.’

Ronald Reagan